


A Christmas Truce

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Reaper76 [50]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Christmas Presents, Gift Giving, Hope, Love, M/M, Memories, Past Relationship(s), Pining, Reunions, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-23 06:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16613459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: “I can’t promise you more than this,” Gabriel murmured after a few moments of standing like that, his voice soft, almost as though he was frightened of breaking the spell. “I can’t give up what I’m doing, or turn my back on my hunt for answers…not yet.” Jack ached at the words, even though he had been expecting them, knowing that neither of them was ready to abandon their respective missions yet and despite this moment of peace, he knew that they weren’t ready to fight on the same side again just yet. In the past, that realisation would have dismayed him, but with Gabriel pressed against him, warmth lingering on his lips from the kiss he felt more hopeful than he had in years. Especially with Gabriel’s choice of words, and he nuzzled closer, fingers tightening, wanting to hold onto this moment for as long as possible as he replied.“Not yet, doesn’t mean never.”





	A Christmas Truce

It was Jack who started it.

    Of course, it was, he had always been a sentimental fool, even up to the end when everything had been crashing down around their ears. It had been one of the things that Gabriel had loved about him, that he still loved about him, he realised with a frustrated growl as he stepped further into the room, eyes scanning every corner even though Sombra had cleared the building. There was no one there, and no sign of the crates he had been looking for, but there sat in the centre of the room was a roughly wrapped package, and his eye twitched as he stared at the obnoxious Christmas wrapping paper. Jack had always been one for the garish side of Christmas, and he had always been terrible at wrapping presents, something that apparently hadn’t changed with age Reaper realised with a snort of amusement, cautiously inching towards the parcel.

   He didn’t worry about Jack using it as a trap, the old man was still too honourable for such tricks. Ana wasn’t, and there was always a chance that Sombra had been up to something, especially as she hadn’t mentioned the parcel although he was sure it hadn’t escaped her notice. It certainly looked innocuous, but he hadn’t survived this long by being careless, so he crouched, reaching out to prod at the parcel with the tip of a gun, ready to dissolve at a moment’s notice. However, nothing happened, and he frowned before deciding to hell with it, letting his guns shrink away, the nanites slipping under his armour and sinking back into his skin. Praying that he wasn’t he going to regret this, and promising Jack a world of pain if this was a trap he reached for the parcel.

     As he cautiously felt the parcel, he couldn’t help but think back to happier times. To Christmas mornings spent around the tree they would set up in their quarters, it was always too big, brushing against the ceiling and standing lopsided and covered in a mishmash of ornaments that they had collected from around the world. They had always been up in the crack of dawn, ostensibly so they would be ready for when Fareeha descended on them, but, it had been for Jack who had always turned into a giant kid at this time of the year. Jack who had spent long minutes over the last few weeks checking every present under the tree, eagerly feeling along every line of the gift to try and guess what it was. They had lost countless gifts that way, Jack forgetting his own enhanced strength, but Gabriel had never minded because there was always a light in the blue eyes at that time of year. One that he had started to see less and less of as everything went to hell.

Maybe Jack wasn’t the only sentimental fool.

     He felt across the parcel, wondering what on earth had possessed Jack to give him a gift this year, especially when they had nearly blown each other’s head off less than a week before when he had stumbled across the other man raiding an abandoned Overwatch base. No, he already knew the answer to that question. It was the reason why Jack had spent more time yelling accusations at him than firing bullets, and why his own shots had gone mysteriously astray, something that Sombra had been more than happy to point out when he had returned. It was the reason he was crouched here staring at the lumpy present in his hands, the mission all but forgotten and he sighed, growling under his breath. _Damn it, Jack, why do you always make things complicated?_

    He knew that he should leave the present behind, finish the mission, bury himself in his role. It was the only way he was going to find the answers that he needed. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, fingers curling protectively against the parcel, nearly leaping out his skin when the communicator crackled to life in his ear, reminding him that he wasn’t alone on this job.

 _“Hurry up and open it already.”_ He was torn between relief and concern at the sound of Sombra’s voice, on the one hand, it was dangerous to give her more leverage against him, knowing that he would have to pay it back in favours that he probably wouldn’t like. On the other, if it had been someone like Akande, his pretence would already have been torn to shreds. It didn’t stop him from gritting his teeth as she continued, easily able to imagine the grin on her face. _“I’m on the edge of my seat here.”_

“Sombra…”

 _“My lips are sealed.”_ It didn’t sound as reassuring as she might have wished, but Gabriel knew that it was as good as he was going to get from the woman, especially when she added with only the faintest hint of urgency in her voice. _“Now hurry up, there’s movement along the perimeter. Security forces by the look of it.”_

    He cursed, this mission was supposed to be discrete. There was no way he was going to be getting his bonus this time, or maybe he already had he amended as he turned his attention back to the present in his hands. He didn’t want to open it with Sombra watching, but he knew that she wasn’t going to let it go now and he needed her on side too much to antagonise her. With a thought he banished his gloves, trying not to recoil at the sight of scarred skin, before slowly, carefully, he began to peel off the wrapping paper.  Jack had always roughly ripped the paper away, and he would sit there, practically quivering as he watched Gabriel carefully open each parcel. It felt different, wrong, knowing that it was Sombra watching him now, but he didn’t falter, at least not until he pulled back the first piece of paper and caught a glimpse of what lay inside, a lump rising in the back of his throat. _Damn you, Jack…. Damn you to hell._

    The man shouldn’t have the power to affect him like this, not after all this time, not after everything that had happened… and yet…. His hands were trembling as he carefully pulled the rest of the paper away, revealing the old, faded hoodie that lay within, his burning gaze resting on the insignia stitched onto the arm. He abandoned the wrapping, before running a hand over the material, finding the tear from where he had taken a bullet during one of their rare days off, he had never got around to fixing it, but now it was carefully stitched shut and he closed his eyes. _Was this what you were looking for?_ He hadn’t been able to work out why Jack had even been at that base the week before, it was a little-used one, mainly kept online to keep Blackwatch troops under the radar. He had thought that maybe Jack was just running out of ideas, but this… the idiot had risked everything just to retrieve a hoodie that Gabriel had already assumed was lost for good, hell, he hadn’t even thought about it for years.

But Jack had...

    There was no pretending that this was a trick, that Jack had been trying to trap him, Jack’s reasons and emotions were written in the hoodie resting in his hands, and Gabriel’s hands tightened around it. He had been hoping that it would be something stupid, something that he could forget about. But he couldn’t forget this, and nor could he ignore it, and slowly he rose to his feet, keeping the hoodie pressed against his chest where feelings he had been trying desperately to keep at bay since realising Jack had survived were stirring.

“Find Soldier 76,” he barked, knowing that Sombra would still be listening.

 _“Fine,”_ she grumbled without heat, and he could already hear her fingers tapping against her keyboard. _“But you might want to take care of our guests while I do.”_

Gabriel nodded, knowing that as much as he wanted to abandon the mission and deal with this, he couldn’t, and he carefully wrapped the hoodie in nanites, refusing to let it get damaged as he headed for the door just as a siren started to wail in the distance. Business first, and then Jack….

**

   Jack nearly didn’t go back to the rundown house they had been using for their base the last couple of weeks. He didn’t want to face Ana’s continued disapproval over his reckless raid on the Overwatch base a couple of weeks ago, one that had provided no useful information and left her having to dig a bullet out of his shoulder from where he had been a hair too slow. He hadn’t shared his real motive behind the raid, bearing the scolding and glares in silence, but tonight, with festive lights strung up over all the neighbouring streets he wasn’t sure that he could bear the thought of going back. It wasn’t where he wanted to be for Christmas, as much as he loved Ana and he found himself slowing and then coming to a halt in the small pool of light cast by one of the few working street lights in the area, tilting his head up to look at the sky. _Where are you?_ He wondered, fingers moving to the chain around his neck, curling around the tags. _Gabriel…_

     He couldn’t go back. He couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Ana sitting there, her emotions hidden beneath a serene mask even though he knew that she would rather be spending Christmas with her daughter, knowing that he was the reason neither of them could be where they wanted for Christmas. With a sigh he let his hand fall away from the dog tags as he turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction, not sure where he was going to go as most places would be closed today. He entertained the loose idea of tracking down a liquor store and breaking in, maybe if he drank enough, Christmas would pass in a blur. It wouldn’t…. even now that the enhancements were beginning to weaken, alcohol still had a minimal effect and besides Ana would never forgive him if he brought more trouble down on their heads.

    Instead, he kept walking, eyes occasionally rising to scan his surroundings, unable to forget even now that he was a wanted man and that he had more than law enforcement on his tail. The rest of the time, he kept his gaze fixated on the floor, watching the passing grey and trying to use it to blot out the memories that he didn’t want to think about. It didn’t work, it never did, but that was fine, he didn’t really deserve that escape. He wasn’t even sure that he wanted it, losing himself in the memories of Christmas mornings at Zurich. It had always just been the two of them first thing in the morning, Gabriel willingly going along with his childish obsession with Christmas, watching him with a soft smile, always ready to pull him into his side once the last gift was opened. And that was where he stayed for the rest of the day. The two of them curled together when Ana and Fareeha would appear, the little girl eagerly showing her uncles what she had got and giving them her latest creations. And later they would work together to cook dinner for the four of them, and whoever else was around to join them that year. McCree. Reinhardt… it had changed each year, but it had always been family.

He missed it.

He missed Gabriel.

    The latter was a constant ache, one that he felt more with each day he woke up to the harsh reality of his current life and with each encounter he had with Reaper. He never managed to say the right thing, never managed to stop it descending into a fight, and he felt himself breaking a little more with each clash. It was why he had decided to try and reach out, to go and find something that he hoped would remind Gabriel of what they’d had… he wasn’t even sure if Gabriel felt anything towards him anymore, but he’d needed to try. He’d taken finding that old hoodie as a sign that maybe things could work out, remembering how often Gabriel had worn it and how many times he had stolen it, not caring that he often got raised eyebrows for wandering around wearing the Blackwatch insignia. Yet it had been over a week since he had left in Reaper’s path, having sowed enough information to ensure that Talon would send someone to investigate and praying that Gabriel would be sent, but he’d heard nothing, so either he hadn’t received it. Or… or he had, and he was stating once and for all that he wanted nothing more to do with Jack.

    Deep down he had a feeling that it was the latter, and it had been harder than ever to convince himself to get up each day, to keep working, searching for answers that he wasn’t sure he wanted if it wasn’t going to change anything. It was why he was out here in the cold, rather than spending Christmas with the only person he had left and…

Footsteps.

   In the quiet streets, there was no mistaking the sound of footsteps coming towards him, even though the owner was clearly trying to move quietly, and Jack tensed, squinting into the shadowy world that existed beyond the reach of the street lamp. Not for the first time lamenting the fact that he couldn’t wander around with his visor on all the time, but as Ana was constantly reminding him, there was no point in drawing extra attention to their presence. Still, it would be useful in these dark nights, and he growled under his breath, hand slipping to his sidearm which he carried with him all the time, especially when the pulse rifle would attract too much attention.

“Who’s there?” It didn’t come out as intimidating at he’d like, his poor vision leaving him more edge than he cared to admit, and he found himself falling back a step as a dark shape loomed up out of the shadows. He didn’t need the shiver that ran the length of his spine, or the light of the street light to recognise this figure, certain that this man…if he could even be called that anymore…was imprinted on his memory, and it took him a moment to get his suddenly dry throat to work. “G…Reaper.” He hated using that name, feeling as though each time, he did, he lost a little more of the Gabriel he had known. But he was at a disadvantage without his visor and pulse rifle, and there was little to be gained from antagonising him and to be honest Jack lacked the energy to fight with him today of all days.

“Gabriel…” Jack blinked, unable to remember the last time that Reaper had sounded that soft when they spoke, and there was something about the tone that had his fingers falling away from his weapon, his hands falling to his side, leaving him defenceless if the other man decided to attack. However, for the moment Reaper seemed content to remain where he was, head tilted to the sight as he studied Jack, and the vigilante grimaced, having a good idea of what he saw.

An old, broken soldier who should have walked away from the fight a long time ago.

“You’re getting old,” Reaper commented, mirroring Jack’s thoughts, but there was nothing mocking about the words. He sounded surprised, almost as though he hadn’t taken notice during their previous encounters, which was impossible, because Gabriel had always seen more than Jack, sensitive to the slightest detail…it was why he had seen the cracks long before Jack, both between them and within Overwatch. That was too painful to think about, especially as with the help of the street light Jack could out the wisps of smoke swirling around Gabriel’s feet, proof of his failures, and he forced his lips into a weak smile.

“I guess I am.”

“And sentimental,” there was an edge of something in Gabriel’s voice, and it took Jack longer than it should have to realise that it was teasing rather than mocking. There had been a time when he had known every nuance of Gabriel’s voice, even if he hadn’t always paid attention to them, and his heart ached to realise that he had lost something else to the passage of time. There was an apology on the tip of his tongue, there always was these days, but he found himself remaining silent as Gabriel slowly moved towards him, coat and armour melting away and a lump rose in the back of Jack’s throat as he realised that Gabriel was wearing the hoodie.

“You…” His voice gave out, and he lost all chance of getting it to work when Gabriel slowly lifted his hands to remove the mask.

     The face underneath wasn’t the one he had fallen in love all those years ago, although if he squinted hard enough he could still see the deep scars that he had spent countless hours tracing with his fingers, always thanking whoever watched over them that Gabriel had come back alive from the mission that had given him those marks. It was the only familiar feature. The warm brown eyes that had turned harsh and distant in those last days were lost forever, replaced by burning coals that usually spoke of anger, but today seemed almost gentle as he met Jack’s gaze. His skin was greyish, the colour of a dead man walking, and Jack wished that he could he blame it on a trick of the light and his own poor eyesight as he watched patches crumbling away, only to reform a second later.

   It had horrified him the first time he had seen it, but now he found himself itching to reach and touch Gabriel, to cradle his face and pull him close as he used to. _Sentimental indeed._ The days when he’d had the right to feel like that were long gone, lost through his own actions, his own inaction and he looked down, guilt and grief threatening to overwhelm him.

    Lost in his own turbulent thoughts, he missed Gabriel moving, nearly lashing out when cool fingers gripped his chin and tilted his face upwards, and he had to fight to not flinch back at finding those burning red eyes so close. “Am I that horrific to look at?” Gabriel asked softly, and mutely Jack shook his head, the urge to reach out intensifying, even though the changes were starker this close. “Liar,” Gabriel chuckled, seemingly missing the way Jack flinched at that word.

    However, the spark of humour disappeared as he considered Jack with serious eyes, before sighing, his fingers moving to cup one cheek, while his other hand rose to cup another. “Sentimental Fool…you really meant it didn’t you?” Jack wasn’t sure if he was referring to the fact that Jack didn’t find him horrific, or the emotion in the gift that he had risked everything to retrieve, colouring slightly before nodding, just a tiny incline of his head. Gabriel snorted, muttering something that Jack didn’t quite catch, fingers stroking Jack’s cheeks in an echo of the tenderness they’d once shared. “Jack…” There was a wealth of emotion in that single word, and Jack swallowed, before finally managing to find his voice once more, the blush reaching his ears as his voice cracked in the middle.

“Why…why are you here?”

“It’s Christmas Jack,” Gabriel replied as though that explained everything, and maybe it did, but Jack needed…wanted more…even if he didn’t deserve it, and it must have been written across his face because Gabriel growled, more amused than frustrated. “You went to such lengths for this gift,” his eyes flicked down to the hoodie, and Jack couldn’t help but follow his gaze, aching to see it on him once more as it almost made him think that they were back in happier times. Almost. “It was reckless,” Gabriel scolded, sounding so much like Ana for a moment that Jack couldn’t help but snort, feeling the grip on his cheeks tightening for a moment.  “But I couldn’t ignore it…and I couldn’t think of anything of anything to give you, apart from this…” He sounded frustrated, but with himself rather than Jack. 

    It took Jack a moment to realise that ‘this; meant this moment right now, the two of them standing so close that their breath was mingling, steaming in the chill of the winter night. It was the tender touch against his cheek, Gabriel’s fingers resuming their previous gentle movement against his skin, tracing scars old and new, following the path of wrinkles that hadn’t been there before. It was the soft, burning gaze that never left his face. As though Gabriel was drinking in the moment as much as Jack was, and it was that which had Jack gathering his courage and taking a step forward, closing the last of the distance between them as he reached out, burying his fingers in the front of Gabriel’s hoodie.

“This is more than enough,” he whispered, voice thick with emotions that he couldn’t even begin to put into words, eyes stinging. _It’s too much._ He didn’t deserve this, not after everything that had happened, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away. It was Gabriel who tilted his head first, leaning in to kiss him and Jack met him halfway as he always had, the movement imprinted on his memory, even if the lips that pressed firmly against his was nothing like the ones he remembered.

    There was nothing heated about the kiss, nothing to hint at the passion they’d had in their heyday. Instead, it was soft and hesitant, neither of them quite sure how to move as they once had, feeling like two strangers trying to find a meeting point. But slowly, painstakingly slowly as they explored each other, Gabriel pulling back to trail light kisses across the scar that cut into Jack’s top lip, Jack pausing to let Gabriel’s nanites reform when he had accidentally nipped a little too hard, they found that old rhythm that rightness letting it seep in to them. The kiss changed now, still soft but gentle with remembered tenderness and love rather than hesitancy, Gabriel’s hands abandoning Jack’s face, in favour of reaching out to pull him closer, until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

     All too soon they had to break apart, but neither of them pulled back, Jack finding the courage he didn’t know that he still possessed and resting his head against Gabriel’s chest, listening to the unnaturally slow beat of the other man’s heart. Gabriel didn’t protest, leaving one arm wrapped around Jack’s back, keeping him close, while the other drifted upwards to play with the ends of his hair, just as he had whenever they had curled up together in the path.

“I can’t promise you more than this,” Gabriel murmured after a few moments of standing like that, his voice soft, almost as though he was frightened of breaking the spell. “I can’t give up what I’m doing, or turn my back on my hunt for answers…not yet.” Jack ached at the words, even though he had been expecting them, knowing that neither of them was ready to abandon their respective missions yet and despite this moment of peace, he knew that they weren’t ready to fight on the same side again just yet. In the past, that realisation would have dismayed him, but with Gabriel pressed against him, warmth lingering on his lips from the kiss he felt more hopeful than he had in years. Especially with Gabriel’s choice of words, and he nuzzled closer, fingers tightening, wanting to hold onto this moment for as long as possible as he replied.

“Not yet, doesn’t mean never.”

“No,” Gabriel admitted unsteadily as he wrapped his arm more tightly around Jack. “It doesn’t.”   

    


End file.
